After Pentecost | Friday 30 Aug 2024
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
Let your continual mercy, O Lord,
cleanse and defend your Church; and,
because it cannot continue in safety without your help,
protect and govern it always by your goodness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
“Everyone is tempted by his own desires
as they lure him away and trap him.”
(James 1:14)
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From Psalms: Psalm 15 | “Who may dwell in your sanctuary?” | Sons of Korah | Ed Sullivan
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OT Reading: Exodus 32:15-35 (GW)
32:15 Moses turned and went down the mountain carrying the two tablets with God’s words. They were written on both sides, front and back. The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was God’s writing inscribed on the tablets.
Then Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting. He said to Moses, “It’s the sound of war in the camp!”
Moses replied,
“It’s not the sound of winners shouting.
It’s not the sound of losers crying.
It’s the sound of a wild celebration that I hear.”
When he came near the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. In a burst of anger Moses threw down the tablets and smashed them at the foot of the mountain. Then he took the calf they had made, burned it, ground it into powder, scattered it on the water, and made the Israelites drink it.
Moses asked Aaron, “What did these people do to you that you encouraged them to commit such a serious sin?”
“Don’t be angry, sir,” Aaron answered. “You know that these people are evil. They said to me, ‘We don’t know what’s happened to this Moses who brought us out of Egypt. Make gods for us. They will lead us.’ So I told them to take off any gold they were wearing. They gave it to me. I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”
Aaron had let the people get out of control, and they became an object of ridicule to their enemies. When Moses saw this, he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “If you’re on the Lord’s side, come over here to me!” Then all the Levites gathered around him.
He said to them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: Each of you put on your sword. Go back and forth from one end of the camp to the other, and kill your relatives, friends, and neighbors.”
The Levites did what Moses told them, and that day about 3,000 people died.
Moses said, “Today you are ordained as the Lord’s priests. God gave you a blessing today because each of you fought with your own sons and brothers.”
Moses Begs the Lord to Spare the People
32:30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a serious sin. Now I will go up the mountain to the Lord. Maybe I will be able to make a payment for your sin and make peace with the Lord for your sin.”
So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “These people have committed such a serious sin! They made gods out of gold for themselves. But will you forgive their sin? If not, please wipe me out of the book you have written.”
The Lord answered Moses, “I will wipe out of my book whoever sins against me. Now, go! Lead the people to the place I told you about. My Messenger will go ahead of you. But when I punish, I will punish them for their sin.”
So the Lord killed people because they had Aaron make the calf.
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Hebrew Worship // I Ask For Mercy // Rachamim Avakesh // רַחֲמִים אֲבַקֵּשׁ // FIRM Israel
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NT Reading: James 1:9-16 (GW)
1:9 Humble believers should be proud because being humble makes them important. Rich believers should be proud because being rich should make them humble. Rich people will wither like flowers. The sun rises with its scorching heat and dries up plants. The flowers drop off, and the beauty is gone. The same thing will happen to rich people. While they are busy, they will die.
Blessed are those who endure when they are tested. When they pass the test, they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. When someone is tempted, he shouldn’t say that God is tempting him. God can’t be tempted by evil, and God doesn’t tempt anyone. Everyone is tempted by his own desires as they lure him away and trap him. Then desire becomes pregnant and gives birth to sin. When sin grows up, it gives birth to death.
My dear brothers and sisters, don’t be fooled.
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Lord Have Mercy (Live) – Matt Boswell, Matt Papa & Sandra McCracken (Lyrics)
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+ Almighty God, you have not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities; grant that we, who for our evil deeds deserve to be punished, by the might of your grace may mercifully be relieved; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
+ O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices; that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path we may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
+ Sovereign Lord: We pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
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- Protect Israel from the fiery darts of the evil one coming from every direction, both within and without.
- Grant your heavenly wisdom to those guiding Israel militarily, politically, and diplomatically;
- Give them hearts to receive, and the courage to do, what’s right in your sight.
- Comfort those who grieve and mourn the loss of loved ones;
- Rebuke those who would use grief for evil purposes.
- Bring swift and certain justice to all those complicit in the October 7th atrocities;
- Deliver the hostages from captivity, and restore their souls.
- Destroy every stronghold of the evil death cult terrorizing the Middle East.
- Strengthen the Messianic communities – Jew and Arab alike – bind them together in love, that they may be a source of help, and healing, and hope;
- Use them in the restoration of your people to their proper place in your Kingdom.
- We pray in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
+ Heavenly Father, you have promised to hear what we ask in the Name of your Son: Accept and fulfill our petitions, we pray, not as we ask in our ignorance, nor as we deserve in our sinfulness, but as you know and love us in your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch
The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil,
and keep us in eternal life.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, to the derision of their enemies), then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the Lord’s side? Come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.’” And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. And Moses said, “Today you have been ordained for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day.”
The Peanut Gallery 